March Madness 2013 Predictions

by Matt Foust on Wednesday, March 13th, 2013

The 2013 NCAA Tournament officially gets underway next Tuesday, but with conference tournaments taking place this week, there is a glimmer of hope for some schools still on the outside looking in. However, the latest March Madness 2013 Predictions pay little mind to those teams, instead focusing mostly on the squads that actually have a shot to win it all. The current favorite to do just that is Big Ten regular season champion Indiana, which is presently listed at +450 odds to win its sixth national championship. Mike Krzyzewski’s Duke Blue Devils are a second pick at +500 odds while Florida and Louisville are garnering +600 and +700 odds respectively.

Indiana opened the year ranked No. 1 in the polls and the odds makers tabbed the Hoosiers as the favorite to win the national championship at +500 odds. With the start of the NCAA Tournament less than a week away, not much has changed for Tom Crean’s troops. While the Hoosiers no longer occupy the top spot in the latest rankings (currently third in both the AP and USA Today Coaches Poll), they remain the favorite to win the national championship.

Indiana does have some strange losses on its resume, falling to Butler at a neutral site, Wisconsin at home, and Illinois and Minnesota on the road; however, it has a number of big wins as well. The Hoosiers earned non-conference wins over No. 6 Georgetown and North Carolina and topped Michigan State and Michigan two times each in league action.

The Hoosiers are also well rounded team with talented offensive players in the paint (Cody Zeller) and on the perimeter (Victor Oladipo and Jordon Hulls). Defensively Indiana can get it done as well (62.2 points per game allowed) and it has proven as much against good offensive teams like the aforementioned Tar Heels and Wolverines.

While there are no March Madness guarantees, Indiana is not a bad pick, especially at +450 odds. That return will only get smaller once the brackets are released and the Hoosiers romp their way to a first round win.